Most of us humans are born with two light meters in the front of our skulls. Now, whether they work "properly" is a different issue. But, most of us can distinguish between colors at many different levels. So, training the brain to recognize certain levels of light (or brightness) should be a simple task . . . one would think.
The sunny 16 rules applies at mid-day in full sun. Who the heck is shooting at mid-day in full sun????
This is a total guess on my part, but I think the Sunny 16 rule is so called because f/16 is the minimum aperture needed for sufficiently usable depth of field with a 4x5 press camera equipped with a stock lens (focal length 127 mm or 135 mm). This rule of thumb for guessing the exposure in bright sunlight coincides with the rule that you should stop down to at least f/16 when using an Optar / Ektar / Xenar / Tessar with 4x5.
jonathan
http://www.blackcatphotoproducts.com/guide.html
it works pretty well .. if you have the time and energy to use it ...
i've had mine for almost 20 years ago when i got it from mr black cat himself
nice guy !
john
I found sunny 16 exposures always left me with empty shadows. Sunny 11 works much better. I usually have a light meter handy and use "guess exposures" only in emergencies or when I'm packing a junk store camera for one of those photo outings where spontaneity and silliness is more important than a bag full of gear. How it all evolved is beyond me, but if you look at the typical exposure instructions given with amateur cameras in the "old days," you'll see they tell you to photograph with the sun over your shoulder fully illuminating your subject. Ugly light, perhaps, but it helped guarantee consistent exposures. If your roll of Verichrome Pan was exposed within a stop, you were safe.
I think what matters is to choose one method of determining exposure and sticking with it, whether it is this Black Cat guide, the Sunny 16 rule or a modern light meter. Any method will work provided you learn its limitations and nuances over time. (As has been discussed above, Sunny 16 is time of day and latitude dependent.) These days I use my spot meter for everything, even when I'm not going "full Zone System." When I want a quick average reading I use a small gray card.
I haven't tracked it, but I would guess that 80% of my exposures (which are often made indoors by window light) are shot between EV 7 and EV 11. If I could simply memorize which lighting conditions correspond to which EV I would be set.
Jonathan
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